‘Star Wars’ Smashes IMAX Records With $48M Galactic Launch

Key among a new annals set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens this weekend is a IMAX opening that blew prior milestones out of a galaxy. The Force Awakens played on 667 IMAX screens around a world, blustering off with $48M. That cracked a $44.1M prior tellurian opening record set by Jurassic World this summer. Again, it bears observant that China was not in a Force margin of opening markets this frame, since it was for JW. On a like-for-like basement but a Middle Kingdom involved, Star Wars scarcely doubled a $25.2M prior tellurian opening record set by Avengers: Age Of Ultron. IMAX will have SWTFA on 270 screens when it bows in China on Jan 9.

Breaking down a milestones: Friday’s $17.7M is now a tip one-day sum in IMAX history; a domestic Friday take of $14M is a best day ever in North America; and a $4.8M Saturday sum is a best abroad opening on a singular day when China was not among a marketplace suite.

Looking only during domestic, there were roughly uninterrupted sell-outs, from late night to early morning and opposite all geographic zones. The record opening is $30.1M on 391 screens, besting JW‘s $20.9M. Of a sum domestic IMAX locations, 350 constructed record-setting formula with a $77K per-screen average. Seven of a tip 10, and 15 of a tip 20 domestic locations were IMAX engagements. Based on an altogether estimated domestic take of $238M for a weekend, IMAX was value 12.65% of that.

Overseas, a launch was $17.9M, or $65.4K per shade during 276 IMAX locations. That’s a format’s biggest-ever offshore kickoff for a day-and-date release, incompatible China. It some-more than doubled Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2‘s $8M.

IMAX is awaiting prolonged legs for JJ Abrams’ refurbish on a space odyssey and will continue to play it good into subsequent year — a subsequent far-reaching joining is Feb 12 with Deadpool.

IMAX CEO Greg Foster marvels during besting a company’s domestic record by $10M and praises a work of Disney, Lucasfilm and Bad Robot in a build-up. “In a grand intrigue of things, this is a film buisness. It’s all about initial impressions. This debate and a approach a film was so impossibly designed and expelled strategically” will outcome in “reading box studies about it in business school.” And, JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy “delivered an implausible film” that incidentally used IMAX cameras for some work. “The stars aligned,” says Foster, “no joke intended.”